ex·che·quer/'eks-ˌche-kər, iks-'che-/n [Anglo-French eschecker eschequ(i)er, from Old French eschequier royal treasury, reckoning board or cloth marked with squares, literally, chessboard, from eschec chess]

1cap: a royal office in medieval England at first responsible for the collection and management of the royal revenue and later for the adjudication of revenue cases

2cap: a former superior court having law and equity jurisdiction in England and Wales over primarily revenue cases and now merged with the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice – called also Court of the Exchequer;

◇ The Exchequer was created in England by the Norman kings. In addition to being divided into a court of common law and a court of equity, at one point the Exchequer also had jurisdiction over all actions, except those involving real property, between two subjects of the Crown. In 1841, the Exchequer's equity jurisdiction, except over revenue cases, was transferred to the Court of Chancery, and in 1881 the Exchequer was merged into the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice.

3often cap: the office in Great Britain and Northern Ireland responsible for the collection and care of the national revenue

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Exchequer — Ex*cheq uer, n. [OE. escheker, OF. eichekier, fr. LL. scaccarium. See {Checker}, {Chess}, {Check}.] 1. One of the superior courts of law; so called from a checkered cloth, which covers, or formerly covered, the table. [Eng.] [1913 Webster] Note:… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Exchequer — Ex‧cheq‧uer [ɪksˈtʆekə ǁ ˈekstʆekər] written abbreviation Exch noun FINANCE the Exchequer the British government department responsible for collecting taxes and paying out public money: • This year, the Exchequer received some £22 billion from… … Financial and business terms

exchequer — ► NOUN 1) a royal or national treasury. 2) (Exchequer) Brit. the account at the Bank of England into which tax receipts and other public monies are paid. ORIGIN Old French eschequier, from Latin scaccarium chessboard ; modern senses derive from… … English terms dictionary